Conservatives to govern East Riding Council as a minority administration
NEW AUTHORITY LEADER ELECTED
THE Conservatives will govern East Riding Council as a minority administration as a new leader of the authority was elected.
Cllr Anne Handley and Cllr Charlie Dewhirst were elected leader and deputy leader respectively at East Riding Council’s annual general meeting on Thursday, backed by Conservatives and the Independent group.
Cllr Handley, the authority’s first female leader, said the ruling group’s door was open to work with others to achieve her ambition of putting the East Riding on the map.
Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Denis Healy said his group would be a constructive but challenging opposition and reflect the voters’ desire for change.
It comes after local elections earlier this month left the Conservatives as the largest party on the council but five seats short of the 34 needed for a majority.
Cllr Handley was elected leader with 39 votes, with 24 voting against. The Liberal Democrats, whose share of seats rose to 22, ruled out a pact with groups on the council ahead of the AGM.
It paved the way for the Conservatives to retain power with the support of the eight-strong Independent group. The AGM was a foretaste of how the new Conservative administration will govern.
They will need the support of other groups get future budgets, council tax rises and other decisions through full council with the Independents appearing to be their preferred partners at present. The Conservatives retained control of the cabinet, the body which gives direction to council policy and gives final sign off on many day-to-day decisions.
All bar one on the council’s cabinet, excluding Cllr Handley, have changed from Cllr Owen’s tenure though some have served on it in the past. One cabinet brief, Coastal Communities and Heritage, has been kept vacant.
Hull Live understands this is to leave the option of another group being part of the administration or it can be folded into other cabinet portfolios.
Cllr David Tucker, of Willerby and Kirk Ella ward, is the adults, health and care portfolio holder, with Howdenshire’s Cllr Victoria Aitken keeping the children, families and schools brief.
The new finance and governance post has gone to Howdenshire’s Cllr Nigel Wilkinson, with culture, leisure and tourism going to Cllr Nick Coultish, Cllr Handley’s Goole North ward colleague.
Cllr Gary Mcmaster, of Willerby and Kirk Ella, will take on the housing and infrastructure brief, while Wolds Weighton Cllr Paul West will oversee environment and transportation.
Cllr Leo Hammond, also of Wolds Weighton, has been made portfolio holder for planning, policy and communities. On the council’s committees including ones dealing with planning applications, the Conservatives lack of a majority meaning they could be outvoted.
The meeting also saw independent Cllr John Whittle stay on as chair of the council, its equivalent of a mayor, for another year. Conservative Cllr Linda Bayram, of Snaith, Rawcliffe and Marshlands, took the position of deputy after predecessor Cllr Kay West lost her seat in the election.
Cllr Handley said she was ambitious for the future of the East Riding.
The new leader said: “I never give up, I have a proven track record for everyone to see.
“I will have an opendoor policy and be there to listen, offer advice, support and help. I want us to put residents first and create opportunities for all through good education, skilled jobs and by attracting more investment.
“We will deliver more value for money through the services we deliver. We will eliminate waste and putting more money back into hardworking taxpayer’s pockets.”
Cllr Healy said he sensed a positive mood from all quarters as the council begins its new era. The Liberal Democrat leader said: “We want to respect the will of the voters and they want change, not the status quo.
“This group will play its full part. We will be a constructive but challenging opposition.”
I will have an opendoor policy and be there to listen, offer advice, support and help
Cllr Anne Handley